General Information
How The Pass Works
Map of Travel Network
Best Points and Travelling Times
Prices

Discount Airfares

Tranz Rail

Island to Island Ferry

Travel in Comfort

How The New Zealand Pass Works

Our Easy Points system
Best of New Zealand Rail Pass uses a simple points system called Best Points.

When you purchase your Pass you have three Points options. You can choose to buy either 600, 800 or 1000 points.

Each journey you make using your Pass uses up a set number of these Points. There are no restrictions on how you may use your Points. As long as you have the required number of Points for each journey you take you can travel wherever you wish, as often as you wish during the six month validity of your Pass.

How many Points do you need? back to top
The Best of New Zealand Pass Timetable and Point Book will help you plan your New Zealand Holiday and decide where you wish to go and how many Points you need to buy.

The Best of New Zealand Pass Timetable and Point Book includes timetables for all train, ferry and coach services available to you when you buy your Pass and the number of Points needed for most journeys.

Can you buy extra Points?
Should you run short of Points on your holiday, you can purchase extra Points. We call these Top-Up Points.

Travelling with someone else? back to top
If you are travelling together as a couple, family or group as the same time to all the same places, we can combine the Points you each but into one Family or Group Pass. It is simple, convenient and you will have just on Pass to keep track of and just one phone call to make for each journey booking.

Should you buy 600, 800 or 1000 Points?

You can pre-plan your travel back to top
When buying your Pass, one option you have is to pre-plan your likely itinerary and then choose the Points option which best meets your travel needs.

Write down where you would like to travel and what stopovers you think you will want.

To help you with this, refer to our Best of New Zealand Pass Timetable and Points Book, which is available from your Travel Agent. The Book includes timetables for all the train, ferry and coach services available to you when you buy your Pass and the number of Points needed for most popular journeys. We have also included a number of sample itineraries as examples of how you can create your own memorable journey.

Add up the Points required for each journey and this will tell you how many Points you need to buy to cover your travel needs.

Or buy more Points as you travel back to top
Alternatively if you are not a person who likes to pre-plan, you can simply purchase 600 Points and buy Top-Up Points as you need them. The great thing about Top-Up Points is that there are no limits to the number of times you add Points to your Pass, and you still make savings of 30% on standard adult fares!

There is a mini 20 Points option which is handy if you need just a few extra Points to complete your last journey. There are also larger 100 Point and 200 Point options which are great if you want to be a little impulsive and travel to a destination you hadn’t originally planned to visit.

Best of New Zealand Pass prices back to top

Prices valid 1 October 1999 to 30 september 2000
An infant (0 to 3 years) can travel free with an adult if they do not occupy a seat. back to top

Prices valid 1 October 1999 to 30 September 2000
Top-Up points are valid for the same 180 day period as your Pass.